ALLEN – As a kid, there were no summer basketball camps taking place in Dorian Finney-Smith’s hometown of Portsmouth, VA.
That’s why when the Dallas Mavericks’ forward got a chance to bring a summer basketball camp to his hometown, he jumped at the opportunity. Last month Finney-Smith hosted a free one-day basketball camp in Portsmouth which was attended by 75 kids eager to learn and listen to what he had to say.
Finney-Smith had expected 50 kids to attend the camp. However, as word spread that a bonafide NBA player was hosting a basketball camp, the list of campers grew.
“Just because I know everybody in the city and I know their parents, their parents looked at me and were like, ‘I knew you since you were four years old,’ “ Finney-Smith said. “So, you can’t say ‘no’ to their kids.”
The camp wasn’t tailored to just learning about the intricacies of basketball.
“I brought successful guys who don’t play basketball to come and talk to the kids,” Finney-Smith said. “I tried to give them a different perspective on life, because everybody isn’t going to make it in basketball.
“Then we had a cookout after the camp, and I had four bounce houses and a whole bunch of black business and vendors advertising their stuff. It was great.”
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle even showed up. An accomplished pilot, Carlisle flew himself into town and visited with the campers for a while.
“My little city hasn’t ever seen anything like that,” Finney-Smith said. “I told (Carlisle) there’s no amount of money he could have sent that could replace him actually being there.
“Some of those kids probably will never see an NBA coach in person ever again. That means a lot to me that he took his time to come out there. And he flew himself.”
Finney-Smith took some pictures while sitting inside the plane with Carlisle, leaving many with the perception that he flew into Portsmouth with Carlisle.
“I wasn’t getting on that little plane with Carlisle,” Finney-Smith said, while laughing. “I just wanted to take a picture.
“I picked him up at the airport. I wanted to at least get the feeling of being in a two-seater plane.”
On Thursday, Finney-Smith took time out of his busy schedule to attend the Mavs Basketball Academy Hoop Camp at the Life Time fitness facilities in Allen. For Finney-Smith, the message he shared with the campers in Portsmouth was similar to what he relayed to the campers in Allen.
“I just try to be that light,” he said. “If I can have a positive effect on any kid and I can help change their outlook on the world, then that’s what I want to do.
“It’s fun, and I love kids.”
In Allen, Finney-Smith answered some questions from the kids, posed for some pictures, and also engaged in a few friendly games of Knockout. Well, one of those games of Knockout didn’t go so well for Finney-Smith.
He lost. To a 10-year old fifth grader name Laksh Warty.
Needless to say, Finney-Smith had some explaining to do.
“They had a girl ball, right,” he said, referring to the size of the basketball being used. “I was trying to figure it out. But (Warty) won. I’ve got to give him that.
“But when they switched the ball back (to a regulation NBA ball), I didn’t miss. You saw it! You saw it!”
With the other campers jumping for joy, Warty was basking in the glow of a victory over an NBA player who recently signed a three-year contract, widely reported to be worth $12 million, with the Mavs.
“I just tried my best and I was super happy that I did win,” Warty said. “But he’s a really good NBA player. It gave me a lot of (motivation to defeat Finney-Smith).”
In the end, being the focal point at two summer camps in two places several hundred miles apart, was both beneficial and insightful for Finney-Smith.
“All of this is bigger than me,” he said. “I’ve got a big family and I needed my whole family to help me get here.
“It takes a community to raise a kid. In my community we don’t have the opportunities like big cities like Dallas. So, the little bit I can do to help them kids get a head start I just want to help them.”
The same, Finney-Smith added, holds true for the campers in Allen.
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